I've always liked Thursday. It's almost Friday and it used to be "ladies night" at a few bars I frequented in my younger days which holds good memories of $1 vodkas and very bad dancing.
However, tomorrow is Thursday and I know I'm going to hate this one. As you are probably aware, tomorrow is also Thanksgiving in America - a Thursday like no other - where Americans gather with their families, eat too much food, maybe watch football (if you're into that kind of thing) and remind themselves or eachother how thankful they are for even the littlest things... like your uncle throwing manners aside and tossing a roll in your general direction becuase its so much easier than passing the bread basket all the way down the table, your mother secretly counting how many glasses of wine you're drinking, or simply sitting across the table from your father.
I know the best thing to do would be to share the tradition of Thanksgiving with my British husband and friends (since I suppose they are my family here), and we are having a meal on Saturday with traditional Thanksgiving dishes, but trying to replicate only reminds me how impossible it is to replicate.
I hate you, Thanksgiving, for making me want to hug my real family and for reminding me that a Thanksgiving meal will happen just as it always has, only without me.
I hate you, Thanksgiving, for calling attention to the fact my father will have dinner by himself this day because I went off and left him. The image of him eating yams alone is haunting me like your happy-turkey-togetherness could not possibly understand.
I hate you, Thanksgiving, for ruining Thanksgiving, and Thursday.
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Thursday, 25 August 2011
Not just any weekend... Bank Holiday weekend!
For those of you outside the UK, a Bank Holiday is similar to a Federal Holiday in America - you know the kinds where all the post offices, banks and government buildings are closed. In America, we always pretended there was a reason for a Federal holiday and gave them a name like Labor Day or Memorial Day. In the UK, they've just assigned them randomly because as L'oreal says "we're worth it".
We've got a Bank Holiday on Monday* which means ... its Bank Holiday weeeekeeeennnnddd!! Many people will stock up on BBQ supplies and pray for sun, others will brave the traffic and go down to the coast and pray for sun, loads of people will go to the Notting Hill Carnival* and hope its riot-free, but if none of those activities inspire you, may I suggest a few unusual events?
England's Medieval Festival
Held at Herstmonceux Castle (which is cool because it has a moat), I imagine it's like a Renaisance Festival you may have attended in America minus all the very bad fake British accents. Oh, and there's also England's largest medieval battle, The Siege of the Castle, with over 1000 reinactment participants. Cool or nerdy? You decide.
Portsmouth Kite Festival
I love Portsmouth and Southsea, but sadly, have never made it to the Kite Festival. This year is the 20th anniversary and according to organisers 'Flyers from as far as Singapore, India, New Zealand and America will be coming together to put on this annual spectacular. On Monday, 29 August (bank holiday) there is free-flying and a free dog show. The festival, which is held on Southsea Common, has been recognised as one of the biggest of its kind in the world, and is even playing host to a UK record attempt this year.'
World Bog Snorkelling Championships
Who knew there even was such a thing!? The World Bog Snorkelling Championships are being held in what claims to be the UK's smallest Town, Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales (that reminds me of when we talked about the smallest, longest, etc villages...Read this post if you missed it) and promises to be bigger and better than ever. Apparently, competitors wearing goggles, snorkel and flippers have to snorkel two lengths of a 60 yard trench in a peat bog. The rules state that 'conventional swimming strokes (e.g. breast stroke, crawl) are not allowed, so flipper power is the key.' It would appear that fancy dress is encouraged, which basically ensures that this will be an awesome, albiet very strange, Bank Holiday event!
Did you know:
*Pedantic note: There are different bank and public holidays in different parts of the UK - this Monday is not a holiday in Scotland.
*the one year we went to the Carnival, I had to look at photos on my camera to remember what happened and how I ended up where I awoke in the morning... and still didnt remember... so you will not find me at the Carnival again any time soon.
We've got a Bank Holiday on Monday* which means ... its Bank Holiday weeeekeeeennnnddd!! Many people will stock up on BBQ supplies and pray for sun, others will brave the traffic and go down to the coast and pray for sun, loads of people will go to the Notting Hill Carnival* and hope its riot-free, but if none of those activities inspire you, may I suggest a few unusual events?
England's Medieval Festival
Held at Herstmonceux Castle (which is cool because it has a moat), I imagine it's like a Renaisance Festival you may have attended in America minus all the very bad fake British accents. Oh, and there's also England's largest medieval battle, The Siege of the Castle, with over 1000 reinactment participants. Cool or nerdy? You decide.
Portsmouth Kite Festival
I love Portsmouth and Southsea, but sadly, have never made it to the Kite Festival. This year is the 20th anniversary and according to organisers 'Flyers from as far as Singapore, India, New Zealand and America will be coming together to put on this annual spectacular. On Monday, 29 August (bank holiday) there is free-flying and a free dog show. The festival, which is held on Southsea Common, has been recognised as one of the biggest of its kind in the world, and is even playing host to a UK record attempt this year.'
World Bog Snorkelling Championships
Who knew there even was such a thing!? The World Bog Snorkelling Championships are being held in what claims to be the UK's smallest Town, Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales (that reminds me of when we talked about the smallest, longest, etc villages...Read this post if you missed it) and promises to be bigger and better than ever. Apparently, competitors wearing goggles, snorkel and flippers have to snorkel two lengths of a 60 yard trench in a peat bog. The rules state that 'conventional swimming strokes (e.g. breast stroke, crawl) are not allowed, so flipper power is the key.' It would appear that fancy dress is encouraged, which basically ensures that this will be an awesome, albiet very strange, Bank Holiday event!
Did you know:
- Under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 (the current act that regulates bank holidays), bank holidays are proclaimed each year by royal proclamation. Royal proclamation is swap the day a holiday is observed in the case that the actual day falls on a weekend. Thanks, Liz, for taking our bank holidays seriously!
- The Department of Culture Media and Sport seem to be interested in adding a bit of patriotism to the bank holiday schedule as they have suggested moving the May Day bank holiday to a date in October, and calling it "UK Day" or to "Trafalgar Day" (21st October) or move the holiday to St David's Day (for Wales) and St George's Day (for England)
- We will get an extra bank holiday in 2012 to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee! The 2012 late May bank holiday will be moved to Monday 4 June 2012 and an additional Jubilee bank holiday will be on Tuesday 5 June 2012 giving us a four day weekend. Yippee!
*Pedantic note: There are different bank and public holidays in different parts of the UK - this Monday is not a holiday in Scotland.
*the one year we went to the Carnival, I had to look at photos on my camera to remember what happened and how I ended up where I awoke in the morning... and still didnt remember... so you will not find me at the Carnival again any time soon.
Monday, 7 March 2011
British Stuffs Review: Pancake Day
For many people in the UK (and many other parts of the world), tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday, otherwise known as Pancake Day when people get strangely excited about eating pancakes. (Do they not realize they could eat pancakes every day if they chose?) Almost every grocery store in the country has reserved special endcaps or erected stands for the display of pancake mixes so no one forgets to stock up on their necessary supplies.
Historically, Shrove Tuesday* is a Christian holiday falling the day before Ash Wednesday. More religious types will surely know better than me, but I believe I am correct in saying that Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the period where Christians are suppose to give up certain things, and apparently fat, butter and eggs are in the list of forbidden items. So as to not waste the eggs, butter and fat one might have in their cupboards on the Tuesday before Lent, they would use the ingredients to make pancakes. Sounds good to me.
Before you get too excited with visions of Denny's breakfast dancing in your head, in the UK pancakes' best friend, syrup, isnt naturally included in Pancake Day. Oh, and if you've never had pancakes outside the US, a pancake won't be a pancake either.
Here is what you would likely be served on Pancake Day:
...and the lemon is not some avent-garde garnish. What we have here are thin, crepe-like, pancake-ish things with sugar sprinkled on them, finished with a squeeze of lemon juice. Blech! What would Aunt Jemima say!?
Forgive me when I say that as nice as Pancake Day is, Fat Tuesday (the end of Mardi Gras) is a much better celebration of Shrove Tuesday!
British Stuffs Rating: 3/5 Paddington Bears
Read more of my British Stuff Reviews here.
Historically, Shrove Tuesday* is a Christian holiday falling the day before Ash Wednesday. More religious types will surely know better than me, but I believe I am correct in saying that Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the period where Christians are suppose to give up certain things, and apparently fat, butter and eggs are in the list of forbidden items. So as to not waste the eggs, butter and fat one might have in their cupboards on the Tuesday before Lent, they would use the ingredients to make pancakes. Sounds good to me.
Before you get too excited with visions of Denny's breakfast dancing in your head, in the UK pancakes' best friend, syrup, isnt naturally included in Pancake Day. Oh, and if you've never had pancakes outside the US, a pancake won't be a pancake either.
Here is what you would likely be served on Pancake Day:
Forgive me when I say that as nice as Pancake Day is, Fat Tuesday (the end of Mardi Gras) is a much better celebration of Shrove Tuesday!
British Stuffs Rating: 3/5 Paddington Bears
Read more of my British Stuff Reviews here.
Sunday, 16 January 2011
A little help?
I would like to publicly apologize to my mom (aka doggie babysitter) for taking her doggy baby sitting services for granted. It wasn't until I moved away from her that I realized how difficult (and expensive!!) it can be to find someone you trust to watch your dog, even just for a night. It took me over a year to find a good pet-sitter, but she will come if we are going to be gone for at least three nights. Very useful (and did I mention expensive!) for trips back to America, but not at all useful for little weekend or overnight trips. Oh and before you say it, no, I will not put my dog in a kennel...if you knew me or my dog, this wouldn't need any further explanation.
My dog is spoiled and I'm over-protective, so without a go-to baby sitter, she now tags along for the overnight trips. However, I quickly learned the first time we tried to plan a little trip to the coast that finding dog friendly accommodation is easier said than done. You'd think with Google at your fingertips you could easily find a dog friendly hotel or B&B in just about any area, but the lack of information really disappointed me. A cursory search will give you hundreds of caravan parks (not really my thing) and self-catering places which must be rented for a week at a time starting only a Wednesday or something, but a one-night stay in an actual hotel, B&B or pub takes a bit more research.
Then there is the matter of the just how friendly is friendly... I naively assumed when I booked our first "dog friendly" B&B in Chichester for a bit of sea air and relaxation that the B&B owner would be just as friendly to my dog as she was to the humans, and was surprised when she said the dog couldn't come in the house (only the room which had been built as an extension with its own entrance) and couldn't sleep on the bed. Couldn't sleep on the bed or eat breakfast and a bed and breakfast? Hmph. This was no way to treat my best friend!
Sadly, she wasn't alone in her dog friendly guidelines. I have since spent ages looking for other places to go with dog in tow and have heard the same rules many times over. Truly dog friendly hotels and B&Bs are difficult to find, even in country which I think is more accommodating to those on four legs than most others.
I have decided to put together a directory of sorts of the friendliest dog friendly places in the UK and need your help. Have you travelled in the UK with your dog? Have you managed to find any places that allow doggie to sleep on the bed AND eat breakfast with you? Those are my criteria and here is my very infantile website. Share your reviews please!
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
2010 Expat Milestones
Is it too late for a New Year's related post?
I am sure there is a rule somewhere that states any self-respecting blogger would have their New Year's post written and posted by at the 4th of January at the latest, so as lover of rules and order, I do apologize for my tardiness, but on to the post....
I'm sure there are many expats who mark traditional milestones of assimilation such as the first time you called your new country "home", or your first celebration of a holiday unique to your new country. I could bore you with my own stories of these and maybe that time I had my first royal spotting (no less than the Queen herself!), but really, who needs another one of those blog posts?
Instead, as we welcome a new year, I'm looking back to on a few of my own less-conventional expat assimilation milestones in 2010. (please share some of your own too!)
March 26, 2010 - I had a friend come to visit and took her around to "see the sights" including a short stop in Farnham, where she very astutely noticed a rather impressive building on the top of a hill and asked what it was. Not even giving it a second look, I said "oh, that's just a castle". Just a castle?! Farnham Castle may not be the grandest castle in the land, but I never would have thought before living in England that any castle would be viewed by me as "just a castle".
August 21, 2010 - This one makes me a bit uneasy... I had another friend visiting from America and was explaining some of the differences between life in England as life in the US and for the first time noticed that I was consistently confusing the "them" and "us" pronouns. I simply couldn't seem to keep straight if I was a "them" (the Brits) or an "us"(the Americans). Was I a "we" or a "they"?? I eventually ceased use of pronouns all together to solve my new identity crisis. I highly suggest this method if you find yourself in a similar situation.
October 13, 2010 - I got my driver's license in August of 2010, but was (ok, still kind of am) what I would consider a nervous driver, so the events of this October afternoon surprised and delighted me enough to be considered milestone #3. I was exiting the Tesco parking lot onto a large-ish roundabout and it wasn't until I had exited the roundabout that I realized what I'd just done - I'd been eating a ripped off piece of french stick whilst manoeuvring around the roundabout with no extra thought! I'd multi tasked while driving on the wrong side of the road and wrong side of the car for the first time!* Hooray for me!
December 30, 2010 - It was on this day that the The Unthinkable happened. My husband and I had reason to be over in East London (like waaay East London), which is considerably closer to the two Taco Bell locations which have recently popped up in Essex. Being the kind, caring man he is, my husband offered to take me to Taco Bell for a pre-new year's diet gorge. The Taco Bell menu began floating around in my head; I had visions of Nachos Bell Grande and shoving handfuls of brightly coloured sauces packets in my the purse and then, The Unthinkable.... I declined his invitation and asked to be taken to our local Indian (Bangladeshi to be precise) restaurant instead. Gasp! The horror! Could I actually prefer Indian food to the previously best food on earth (i.e Mexican food) or was it just a battle between Indian v Taco Bell?? I quickly realised it wasn't... I wasn't just choosing Indian over Taco Bell; I actually preferred Indian over ALL Mexican food. What has happened to me? This one is quite possibly less assimilation and more self-preservation, but a milestone either way.
If you too like Indian food (or variations thereof) and would like to try some of the best curry that England has to offer, The Independent claims these are the 50 best curry houses.
*I should probably mention that the Highway Code likely states you should concentrate only on driving when behind the wheel, and preforming any other actions concurrently may lead to death or grievous bodily harm.
I am sure there is a rule somewhere that states any self-respecting blogger would have their New Year's post written and posted by at the 4th of January at the latest, so as lover of rules and order, I do apologize for my tardiness, but on to the post....
I'm sure there are many expats who mark traditional milestones of assimilation such as the first time you called your new country "home", or your first celebration of a holiday unique to your new country. I could bore you with my own stories of these and maybe that time I had my first royal spotting (no less than the Queen herself!), but really, who needs another one of those blog posts?
Instead, as we welcome a new year, I'm looking back to on a few of my own less-conventional expat assimilation milestones in 2010. (please share some of your own too!)
 |
| Farnham Castle |
August 21, 2010 - This one makes me a bit uneasy... I had another friend visiting from America and was explaining some of the differences between life in England as life in the US and for the first time noticed that I was consistently confusing the "them" and "us" pronouns. I simply couldn't seem to keep straight if I was a "them" (the Brits) or an "us"(the Americans). Was I a "we" or a "they"?? I eventually ceased use of pronouns all together to solve my new identity crisis. I highly suggest this method if you find yourself in a similar situation.
October 13, 2010 - I got my driver's license in August of 2010, but was (ok, still kind of am) what I would consider a nervous driver, so the events of this October afternoon surprised and delighted me enough to be considered milestone #3. I was exiting the Tesco parking lot onto a large-ish roundabout and it wasn't until I had exited the roundabout that I realized what I'd just done - I'd been eating a ripped off piece of french stick whilst manoeuvring around the roundabout with no extra thought! I'd multi tasked while driving on the wrong side of the road and wrong side of the car for the first time!* Hooray for me!
December 30, 2010 - It was on this day that the The Unthinkable happened. My husband and I had reason to be over in East London (like waaay East London), which is considerably closer to the two Taco Bell locations which have recently popped up in Essex. Being the kind, caring man he is, my husband offered to take me to Taco Bell for a pre-new year's diet gorge. The Taco Bell menu began floating around in my head; I had visions of Nachos Bell Grande and shoving handfuls of brightly coloured sauces packets in my the purse and then, The Unthinkable.... I declined his invitation and asked to be taken to our local Indian (Bangladeshi to be precise) restaurant instead. Gasp! The horror! Could I actually prefer Indian food to the previously best food on earth (i.e Mexican food) or was it just a battle between Indian v Taco Bell?? I quickly realised it wasn't... I wasn't just choosing Indian over Taco Bell; I actually preferred Indian over ALL Mexican food. What has happened to me? This one is quite possibly less assimilation and more self-preservation, but a milestone either way.
If you too like Indian food (or variations thereof) and would like to try some of the best curry that England has to offer, The Independent claims these are the 50 best curry houses.
*I should probably mention that the Highway Code likely states you should concentrate only on driving when behind the wheel, and preforming any other actions concurrently may lead to death or grievous bodily harm.
Monday, 20 December 2010
British Christmas
Like most child-less adults, I miss that excitement of Christmas I had as a child. I miss the construction paper ring Christmas countdown thing, I miss sitting by the tree admiring all the presents and I miss trying to fall asleep at 6:00pm on Christmas Eve so that Santa would come sooner. (Tip for any other kids wanting to fall asleep at 6:00 - a few glasses of wine at 4:00 usually does the trick for me)
That being said, I do still love Christmas and eventhough I've had a lot of negative things to say about certain traditional British Christmas foods, there are a few things about British Christmas that I really enjoy.
2. Paper hat/crown - As mentioned, one of the things included in most (if not all) Christmas crackers is a paper crown which everyone is expected to wear throughout the meal. The only history behind this I can dig up is that wearing the paper crown may have originated from twelfth-night celebrations where a King or Queen was appointed to look over the proceedings. It's all a bit religious for me, and I don't really know what that means, but as long as I have a reason to wear a paper hat on my head on Christmas, I'm a happy girl.
3. Boxing Day - I was always very jealous of the Canadians who got to celebrate Boxing Day while I often had to return to work immediately after Christmas, but now, I too get to reap the benefits of this holiday. God bless the Commonwealth.
According to Wikipedia: "The exact etymology of the term "boxing" is unclear and there are several competing theories, none of which is definitive. In the United Kingdom, it certainly became a custom of the nineteenth-century Victorians for tradesmen to collect their "Christmas boxes" or gifts on the day after Christmas in return for good and reliable service throughout the year. Another possibility is that the name derives from an old English tradition: in exchange for ensuring that wealthy landowners' Christmases ran smoothly, their servants were allowed to take the 26th off to visit their families. The employers gave each servant a box containing gifts and bonuses (and sometimes leftover food). In addition, around the 1800s, churches opened their alms boxes (boxes where people place monetary donations) and distributed the contents to the poor.
All well and good, but to me Boxing Day is the day of one of my new favourite events - The Windlesham Pram Race! Difficult to explain, but its basically a fancy dress (costumes, not ball gowns) pub crawl with fancy dress being optional so to me, its just a pub crawl the day after Christmas (but that sounds a bit less exciting, doesnt it?). After spending Christmas Day with the in-laws, I'm always looking forward to it!
Did you know...?
.... The British often say “Happy Christmas” instead of Merry Christmas. This is supposedly because back in the day religious figures suggested that “merry” was a reference to drinking alcohol.
....The Christmas Tree was brought to England by Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert from his native Germany. The famous Illustrated News etching in 1848, featuring the Royal Family gathered around a Christmas tree in Windsor Castle, popularized the tree throughout Victorian England. *
....Christmas cards developed in England when young boys practiced their writing skills by creating Christmas greetings for their parents, but it is Sir Henry Cole who is credited with creating the first real Christmas card. The first director of London's Victoria and Albert Museum, Sir Henry found himself too busy in the Christmas season of 1843 to compose individual Christmas greetings for his friends. *
* Thanks to this site for these facts
That being said, I do still love Christmas and eventhough I've had a lot of negative things to say about certain traditional British Christmas foods, there are a few things about British Christmas that I really enjoy.
 |
| Christmas Cracker |
1. Christmas crackers - I know that you can buy these in America (I believe I used to see them at Crate and Barrel), but I personally never was privy to a Christmas cracker when I lived in America and think they are great fun. For those unfamiliar, a Christmas cracker is a hollow cylindrical paper tube with twisted ends and various items inside it. The ends are pulled by two different people, the cracker makes a loud noise (think cap gun) as it comes apart and you can get to the things inside it. In most mass produced ones, you will find a paper crown (see below), a toy or trinket and a (usually very bad) joke.
Looking for better inclusions in your Christmas Crackers? How about these ones from Fortnum and Mason? They'll only set you back £1000(!!) for a "superb array of silver plated gifts, comprising a tea strainer and caddy, sugar dredger, mustard pot, place card holder, napkin rings and an eggcup and spoon set". Very posh.
 |
| Family wearing paper crowns (c.JupiterImages) |
3. Boxing Day - I was always very jealous of the Canadians who got to celebrate Boxing Day while I often had to return to work immediately after Christmas, but now, I too get to reap the benefits of this holiday. God bless the Commonwealth.
According to Wikipedia: "The exact etymology of the term "boxing" is unclear and there are several competing theories, none of which is definitive. In the United Kingdom, it certainly became a custom of the nineteenth-century Victorians for tradesmen to collect their "Christmas boxes" or gifts on the day after Christmas in return for good and reliable service throughout the year. Another possibility is that the name derives from an old English tradition: in exchange for ensuring that wealthy landowners' Christmases ran smoothly, their servants were allowed to take the 26th off to visit their families. The employers gave each servant a box containing gifts and bonuses (and sometimes leftover food). In addition, around the 1800s, churches opened their alms boxes (boxes where people place monetary donations) and distributed the contents to the poor.
All well and good, but to me Boxing Day is the day of one of my new favourite events - The Windlesham Pram Race! Difficult to explain, but its basically a fancy dress (costumes, not ball gowns) pub crawl with fancy dress being optional so to me, its just a pub crawl the day after Christmas (but that sounds a bit less exciting, doesnt it?). After spending Christmas Day with the in-laws, I'm always looking forward to it!
________________________________________________
.... The British often say “Happy Christmas” instead of Merry Christmas. This is supposedly because back in the day religious figures suggested that “merry” was a reference to drinking alcohol.
....The Christmas Tree was brought to England by Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert from his native Germany. The famous Illustrated News etching in 1848, featuring the Royal Family gathered around a Christmas tree in Windsor Castle, popularized the tree throughout Victorian England. *
....Christmas cards developed in England when young boys practiced their writing skills by creating Christmas greetings for their parents, but it is Sir Henry Cole who is credited with creating the first real Christmas card. The first director of London's Victoria and Albert Museum, Sir Henry found himself too busy in the Christmas season of 1843 to compose individual Christmas greetings for his friends. *
* Thanks to this site for these facts
Sunday, 5 December 2010
British Stuff Review: Mince Pies
Thank you to CK for bringing up mince pies in a comment on my last post re: Christmas pudding. I both like and dislike mince pies - I like them because seeing them in the shop means its coming up to Christmas time (hooray!), but dislike them because they are such a disappointment. Lovely little pastry pies filled with a sweet-ish filling and usually served with custard poured over them should be good, but sadly aren't and the history behind them makes them even worse. Oh, I should also mention that in the UK, the word mince refers to what I have always called ground beef, but modern pies actually don't contain meat. Let me explain...
The mince pie can be traced back to the 13th centrury when the crusaders returned from Europe and the Middle East. Early mince pies were sometimes called mutton pie, shrid pie and Christmas pie. Original ingredients included minced meat, suet, a range of fruits, and spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. This mixture was placed in a pie crust and covered with pastry. The recipe apparently developed as a way of preserving meat by mixing it with fruit, spices and alcohol. Ew! Apparently, King Henry V was a big fan of these half savory/half sweet pies and demanded they were served at his coronation. Current recipes are only cooked fruit and spices (no meat), but sometimes still are made with suet, so be careful if you are a vegetarian.
If you'd like to try a mince pie, you may want to seek the advice of the Mince Pie Club, who say their mission is to find the best mince pie available in stores. They taste all the pies they can get their hands on and offer reviews on their website. They are still tasting this season's pies, but last year decided that Morrison's The Best Baked Deep Filled Mince Pies were the cream of the crop. For reference, Waitrose All Butter Mince Pie came a close second.
Alternatively, for a fast food mince pie experience, you can visit McDonalds (only in the UK) who are now serving Festive Pies, which are like the McDonald's apple pies you are probably familiar with, but filled with mince pie filling and custard... I think I'll pass, thanks.
British Stuff Rating: 1/5 Paddington Bears
 |
| Modern Day Mince Pie |
If you'd like to try a mince pie, you may want to seek the advice of the Mince Pie Club, who say their mission is to find the best mince pie available in stores. They taste all the pies they can get their hands on and offer reviews on their website. They are still tasting this season's pies, but last year decided that Morrison's The Best Baked Deep Filled Mince Pies were the cream of the crop. For reference, Waitrose All Butter Mince Pie came a close second.
Alternatively, for a fast food mince pie experience, you can visit McDonalds (only in the UK) who are now serving Festive Pies, which are like the McDonald's apple pies you are probably familiar with, but filled with mince pie filling and custard... I think I'll pass, thanks.
 |
| McDonald's Festive pie (photo courtesy of The Diary) |
British Stuff Rating: 1/5 Paddington Bears
Friday, 3 December 2010
British Stuff Review: Christmas Pudding
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| My kind of pudding! |
Now, I knew that pudding is not what I think pudding should be (think Bill Cosby Jello Pudding), but was surprised by what was served to me.
 |
| Christmas Pudding |
People in England have been enjoying Christmas pudding since the middle ages and the recipe has evolved through the years, growing in popularity in the 1800's when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert spoke of their love of the dish.
Do be careful when eating a Christmas pudding as you may find some purposely placed inedible items inside your portion. It is traditional to stir silver coins (for wealth), tiny wishbones (for good luck), a silver thimble (for thrift), a ring (for marriage), or an anchor (for safe harbor) into the mixture, and whoever gets the the "lucky" serving, would be able to keep the charm and the good wishes that go along with it. When silver coins were not as readily available, this tradition lapsed because people feared putting alloy coins in their pudding. Today small token coins and other objects are made just for this use.
Yes I hear you: "Interesting enough, but get to the point - what does it taste like?" Now that I am living in England, the novelty of this uniquely British food has well and truly worn off and I am no longer afraid of offending my mother-in-law by admitting that I absolutely hate Christmas pudding. It tastes kind of like warm, soggy fruitcake and will never again pass my lips!
British Stuffs Rating: 0/5 Paddington Bears!
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Only in Britain (and Ireland in this instance): Christmas in a Pot
Come Christimas time, I am always on the look out for interesting Christmas versions of normal food products, and this one is a new one on me: Christmas dinner flavoured Pot Noodles (British equivilant of Cup Noodles) called Pot Noeldle have hit the shelves!
According to the Pot Noodle people, the flavour is "fusion of turkey and stuffing with all the trimmings". Ew, but awesome!
Oh and 2p from every pot sold will go to the Royal Air Force's Miles More Minutes programme which raises money to give troops serving overseas more telephone time with their families, so you can try them out AND do a good deed... isnt that what Christmas is all about?
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